Salty Rain
by Author of Scifi
Summary: A murderer from the most tormented part of L's past has resurfaced. And he's proclaimed that he's after blood. Can L encounter this creature from his past and also survive? Do NOT read reviews before you read the fic because one has major spoilers in it.


_Light really doesn't have a purpose in this oneshot, he's just kindof 'there' so I can stick with canon. When I first set out to write this, I thought he would be more involved, but he ended up just standing there for a lot of the last paragraphs. Hope that doesn't take too much away from it._

_This occurs between episode 17 and 18. I figured that there was probably some sort of time gap between there. At this time, they have been in the new facility for about a month._

_Please, please, PLEASE, review! My first attempt at any sort of interaction between L and B, and I think the path I took was kind of dangerous and maybe even slightly cheesy. Did it end up being cheesy and tawdry? I _must _know!_

**Salty Rain**

Lawliet shifted under the covers and his eyes opened for perhaps the hundredth time that night. He just lay there quietly, attempting to suppress the emotions that were welling up defiantly in his chest. He took a deep, steadying breath. _Why am I so disturbed by this? I'd always suspected that he wasn't really dead. He was always so… clever._ He sat up and rubbed his tired eyes. When was the last time he had allowed himself any sort of stretch of sleep? All his sleep was normally gleaned from short fifteen minute catnaps while he still sat in front of his computers. The only reason he now slept in an actual bed was a simple courtesy to Light. He glanced over at the prone figure beside him, the figure's chest rising and falling methodically. He looked so peaceful. So… innocent. _Light can't still be Kira, can he? I'm sure he was Kira at the beginning of his confinement, but…_ L shook his shaggy head and ran his thin, pale fingers through his black, messy hair, not in an attempt to tame it but as a type menial gesture that people often did when they were thinking intensely on a certain topic.

_Why… why _now_, of all times. Why _now?_ Don't you know… well, why would he care? The creature only cares for himself. _Gracefully, L reached his hand over to the lamp and flicked it on. The lamp only exuded dim, almost orange rays, those that seemed to speak of loneliness, those more suited to a nightlight than a normal lamp, but it was L's style to have such melancholy lights in his room, being accustomed to the low light of his computers. Also, the light wouldn't wake Light up. L's hand moved toward the piece of paper on the desk, but stopped about three inches from it. He noticed his hand was shaking from fear. _I, L Lawliet, do _not _get afraid. How could such a small, flimsy object instill trepidation into me? _It was not the paper itself, of course, that scared him, but rather… what _was _so frightening about this insignificant piece of paper? On it was just words, nothing more. He growled softly, angry with himself, and grabbed the paper, wincing as it rustled. The noise seemed as loud as thunder to L. As he picked up the paper and carefully straightened it out, he could have sworn he had seen a red flash out of the corner of his eye. He was sure that he had heard laughter, the kind of laughter that danced on the edge of hearing, the kind that seemed like a ghost, floating and weaving between consciousness and unconsciousness, wavering on the edge sanity and insanity, the kind that made you doubt as to whether it was mere sound waves or malevolence incarnated. He glanced at Light again, briefly. Still asleep. Peaceful. Innocent. Unburdened. Surely burdened with the task of finding the most terrible criminal of perhaps the millennium, but not burdened with the fact that _he _had made a monster, that _he _had let someone precious to him down terribly, that _he…_

A loud _kkrr-thump _echoed through the room. L was tempted to jerk back and leap out of bed, but doing so would jar Light unpleasantly from his slumber. So, he simply took a deep breath and turned toward the area where the sound had originated. Near the window. Were those… eyes? Red eyes, blood red eyes, which belonged to a pale face, framed with shaggy black hair that was identical to his own.

_You told me to come to you!_ L wanted to scream. He wanted to rush at the window, he wanted to grab the creature and shove it out the window if only…

Wait. It wasn't him. It wasn't the monster. It was just the traffic lights. L sank back into bed and sighed, involuntarily dropping the piece of paper that had frightened him so much. He shivered, shook his head resignedly and leaned down to pick the paper up off of the carpeted floor. He grabbed it, opened it and read the words for perhaps the thousandth time.

_Hello, Lawliet,_

_It has been so long since we last spoke, hasn't it been? Far, far too long since we've seen each other's faces… far, far too long since we've sat together in the garden at Wammy's House, discussing the future._

_Did you think me dead? Sent away to a lunatic asylum then murdered by Kira? Then you thought wrong, dear Lawliet._

_Lawliet… do you even identify yourself with that anymore? Or do you, along with the rest of the delusional world, consider yourself 'L'? No matter, either way, you know what I want._

_I…_

_Want..._

_Blood._

_Who's blood is up to you. _

_Meet me at the abandoned cemetery in the Shinjuku area at any time in the next 13 days. I'm sure you know which one I'm talking about, knowing me. _

_If you don't come, then I swear to you, L, I will duplicate the LABB Murders thrice over, and this time, I won't leave clues or hints. And one of the victims will be your lover, Light._

_Your questions will be answered when you arrive._

There was no signature, but it wasn't needed. Who else but that _monster _would send something like this?

L scratched his shaggy head and wondered once again how on _earth _B could have known about Light. Forget that, how did he even know how to contact L? The original message had been sent through an unorthodox virus that inputted information into a computer, which he computer then interpreted as letters (L had then printed it, then eliminated the virus). A very nifty trick, but how had he managed to get the virus into the computer? Where was B even getting the technology required to do this?

A chill ran up L's spine. He couldn't not go and meet B. His conscience would not allow it. B didn't make idle threats. But B said he wanted blood, so did that mean that if L went, B would kill him? Didn't matter. L would have to go; and B had known that L would reach this conclusion.

Then there was the matter of what cemetery, but L knew B well enough to know exactly which cemetery, just as B had assumed. The one with the address 1313.

It would have been logical to go by himself, but there was no way that he could release himself from Light. First, it would cause undue questions, and second, well, L didn't relish the idea of becoming unattached from Light. Why? He kept telling himself I was because L absolutely _had_ to keep an eye on Light no matter what the cost, but L knew, deep in his heart, that wasn't the real reason.

Frankly, L had been alone his whole life, and now that he finally had a real friend, he didn't want to let him go. Even for a few hours. Sad, really.

Also… if Light really was L's friend… L had been wanting to talk about B to _someone_ for who knows how long. He had never even discussed the matter with Watari. He had acted as if he could care less about Beyond and the only reason he got involved with the case was because of his sense of justice. Watari believed him… after all, who knew how many people B would kill if he went on a rampage? He had never discussed his true feelings about B, never discussed how he truly felt about him, what he felt was _his _part in his failings…

The bed rustled next to him, and a hand rested itself on L's shoulder. "What's the matter, L?" a voice said sarcastically, sadistically...

L jerked forward out of the bed and twisted, bringing his leg around as he did, connected with something soft, landed on his toes, hands in front of his chest, in a defensive position, yelling, "Let go of me, monster! Why, why did you have to kill…!"

He looked up and saw the concerned, innocent face of Light staring back at him. His normally immaculate hair was pointing in all different directions, his eyes were wide, black, sleepy, and confused, and his white shirt was disgruntled to the extreme. At that moment, he looked more like L… or B… than Light. A dribble of red went slowly down his chin from his busted lip.

"L! What's gotten into you?! Now you're kicking me in the middle of the night, screaming that I'm a monster?!" Light was more distraught than angry, but that moment anger seemed appropriate.

L bowed his head and panted slightly. He stood up straight, rolled his shoulders, then slouched into his normal standing position. He shoved his hands into his pockets (even when he slept he wore the same attire as when he didn't) before he said, "I'm very sorry Light. I thought you were someone else."

Starting to feel more angry than puzzled, Light snapped back at him, "Exactly how many people have you slept with to think that I'm someone else?!"

"You're the first person I've ever slept with in my life," said L dully. _Why do I feel like I'm arguing with a wife? _He shuddered slightly at the thought.

"Don't get off topic! Why did you think I was someone else?!"

"Could you please lower your voice? My ears are very sensitive in the morning."

Light was tempted to scream 'no!', then tack on some very strong language, but he decided he might as well hear what L had to say. "Fine. Now, why did you think I was someone else? Do you happen to have a closet full of criminals around here somewhere and thought I was one who escaped?"

"No. As you know, I have no interest in keeping criminals in closets."

"Answer the question."

L sighed. While he had resolved to eventually tell Light about B, it wasn't easy to spill some of your darkest secrets. "It's just… someone is on my mind. And I felt your hand on my shoulder…" he shrugged and crawled back into bed, sitting on top of the covers. Not in his normal position, which would be difficult to accomplish on the bed, but with both knees bent under him, hands on his lap.

"So now you're a superstitious nutcase. Who is this person?"

"B."

Amazing what that single letter did to L. That one letter opened up a reservoir of abandoned thoughts and regrets, which came spilling forth in a monologue of despair and compunctions. He explained who B was, why he had killed those three innocent people, how he felt that _he_ had failed B because he hadn't been close enough to him, how he had always felt he was responsible for those innocent's deaths, and about the recent letter.

Light just sat quietly throughout the whole monologue, struck dumb by how _emotional _L was, at how deep his regret and shame really went, about how terrible he felt about this one person's actions.

L finally ended with, "Now he's emerged again after I thought him dead, and has challenged me to meet him at the Shinjuku graveyard. If I don't he swore to me he would duplicate the LABB Murders thrice over and would make sure that you're one of the victims."

"But L, we're chained together. How can he get me? How does he even know about me?"

"I don't know. However, I _do _know he will easily be able to find a way to kill innocents without tipping the police off. The only reason we caught him the first time was because he deliberately left clues. If he doesn't take any risks, even _I _might not be able to find him before he does serious damage."

"So the reason you told me all that was so that you could tell me that I would have to come with you to meet this Beyond Birthday character because you don't want to leave me alone because you still suspect I'm Kira."

"Exactly," said L shortly, deciding that it was unnecessary to expound on his other reasons.

Light himself was touched that L had deigned him worthy to know all of this. Light knew without being told that what he had just been told was extremely confidential, and something L had never wanted to tell anyone. That he even trusted Light enough to tell him that…

Light rubbed his mouth, wiped the blood on the sleeve of his shirt and patted L playfully on the head, then started ruffling his hair. He gave one of his big, beaming Light smiles and said almost sickeningly cheerfully, "Don't worry L, as long as I'm with you this Beyond character will never hurt you!"

L couldn't help but chuckle slightly. Such a bold, friendly statement, made by perhaps his worst enemy… "You underestimate B, then."

Light removed his hand from L's hair and stared at him quizzically. "You really think this guy will kill you?"

"I… I don't know. I don't think he will, and I can't _not _meet him..."

"So when should we go?"

"I'm not getting back to sleep anytime soon, how about now?"

--------------------------------------------

That seven minute drive was perhaps the longest ride of L's life. _Either I die or he's captured… I hate to think in absolutes but there's really no other outcome possible. _L had quickly told Watari about the letter and had arranged it so that second he pressed the signal button on his belt, police would swoop in and arrest Beyond. _Wouldn't Beyond know that? Wouldn't he know that he's putting himself in jeopardy by showing himself to me? Does he not care? Is he really just going to shoot me or stab me then run off without saying a word?_

"You sure about this, L? We could just have the police go and arrest him and then…"

"I've told you before, Light, I want to hear what he has to say first."

"You think that he has a legitimate reason for what he did? Although, with these Kira killings going on it is difficult to look at this guy's crime without thinking it's minor, but… he still killed three people. If you're so interested in justice shouldn't we just try and arrest this psychopath?"

L was silent. He wasn't doing this because of his sense of justice. It was because he still couldn't shake the feelings that he felt for B. What feelings? Not even L himself knew. _Do I hate him? Maybe… why do I hate him? Because he killed three people, of course. But no, I don't hate Light, and he's killed so many more… I never hated the people I convicted. Always facing atrocities with a cold heart, but B… damn it B, _why _do you move me? Why do I hate you? Was it because I loved you? I have often found love is a prelude to hate… why did I love you? No… why _do _I love you?_

"L…?" Light asked, concerned. "This guy really does disturb you, doesn't he."

"Yes." L had never been one to sugarcoat thing or make excuses.

Light was silent. He decided it would be best to let L think it out for himself.

Then… they were there. The graveyard seemed to sneak up on them like it was a conscious entity itself… it loomed before them, the graveyard itself nowhere near as ominous as the knowledge of who waited within.

L stepped out of the car, then waited as Light made his way over from the passenger's seat to the driver's seat to out the door. The chain didn't allow him to simply exit the passenger door. "Kind of an eerie place."

The graveyard wasn't your stereotypical movie graveyard with spider webs and bats and large, brooding stone gravestones, worn from years of erosion and leaning in crazy angles. There was a neat little path that led down the middle, a rather dainty looking green gate encircling the area. Small, clean stone markers were lined in neat, straight rows, flowers and other various objects aligned in front of them. It was a neat little place, not scary but more melancholy, respectful of the departed. Distant thunder sounded, and a light, friendly rain came down. It was the kind of night that reminded L of times gone by, of times past when he was a child, walking in the gardens at night with his brother Edmund… _oh Edmund…_ he mused. He hadn't thought about his brother since his tragic murder over twenty years ago… the time they had spent together had been sweet but short.

"L? You ready?" asked Light, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

L didn't answer, just started walking forward. He wrapped his thin, pale hand around the handle to the gate, and stopped. The cold, wet metal made his hand feel slightly numb. He pushed down the latch and opened the gate. It opened silently. He walked in and motioned Light to follow. Light did, looking like an excitable but frightened terrier. Light tried to close the gate quietly, but it slipped out of his fingers and the gate closed with a resounding _clank_. L cursed under his breath and turned. He would not call for _him_, or tell _him_ that they were there._ He_ would know. L was determined to let him make the first move.

They stood at the entrance for a few minutes, nothing happening except the rain getting slightly heavier. A few times they thought they heard the sound of feet on the grass, but it was hard to tell because of the rain. L took a breath and whispered to Light, "We should probably follow the path."

Light just nodded, then ran his hand through his hair, sending small droplets of water everywhere. L took the first step, stopped, then walked a little farther, peering into the misty darkness of the rainy night. They finally came to a courtyard. A fountain bubbled hollowly in the middle of the courtyard, several benches stood on the perimeter. L looked around again, but couldn't see _him_. "Light…"

Light jumped and turned toward him. "What? You're _there? _Then who's…" the word caught in Light's throat and he turned toward the person he had previously thought was L. Same hair, same pants, same shirt… different eyes. They were… red.

Light yelped and backed away, grabbing L's arm. "L…"

L didn't say anything. He just stared at him… stared at the man who had broken his heart in more ways than one. It was just like him to arrive in this way… to act as L, to show how similar they really were, to demonstrate a point fully without saying a word.

They simply stared, water dripping down their faces, down their chests and arms, and pooling at their feet. Finally L broke the wretched silence. "B."

That one letter changed B's demeanor entirely. A sadistic grin broke out over his face, he tilted his head to the side slightly, parted his lips and started laughing… the laughter of a ghost, of insanity, the kind that weaved into your head and strangled your soul… malevolence incarnated. He threw back his head and laughed at the sky. L half expected lightning to flash around his head, but there was no lightning, nor thunder. Even the rain had lightened to a mere sprinkle. When he finished, he brought his head back down slowly and smirked haughtily. "You decided to show yourself, for once, to come out from that mask, that façade that you always throw up to hide who you really are from the world. You came… you really came. I didn't expect you to bring Light with you, though… are you actually embracing even a part of your humanity? The part that wants to be loved? That wants to have attention? Much like a toddler who can't stand to be alone?"

Light opened his mouth to speak, but L held up his hand. "Light. Stay out of this. Please."

Light shut his mouth and edged back a little, still eyeing B warily, like a mouse summing up a tensed cat.

B chuckled slightly. "My, my, L, now you even have a pet who will obey you. Finally got tired of being alone and pretending to be nothing but a disembodied letter?"

L said nothing. Water droplets still dripped down his face.

"I know you have questions, you might as well ask them."

L shut his eyes briefly, then aligned his face into its normally dull position. "How did you escape?"

"Simple. I used some drugs at the asylum to make a drug that would make it appear that I had a heart attack. When they put me in the morgue, I used my belt buckle to make a lock-pick and managed to escape."

"How'd you know about Light?"

"Oh, that. Simple enough. I have ties to the police force, and a few moles. Do a little digging, make a few bribes and you can get practically anything you want. If you have the stomach for it."

"I've told no one except the task force about Light."

"No, I didn't ask anyone about Light in particular. I'll just say I managed to trace some things that went into building your complex. I've actually been there for the last few weeks, watching you and Light, seeing how you operate."

Light gave a small, feminine squeak. "You've been… watching us?"

"Oh yes. That place is so big it's actually quite easy. Seeing as how I look just like L, getting past security is a breeze as well. That's not important right now. What's important is that you're here, now L."

L wanted to ask how B knew his real name, but he couldn't very well ask that in front of Light. B read his mind, however, and his smirk got just a little bigger. "Now that's one question I won't be answering."

L narrowed his eyes. _Oh, you're good, aren't you B?_

"But when I said I wanted blood, I meant it. I wanted blood. I… I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner." He reached behind himself and a metallic hiss split the night.

"No!" Light yelled as he saw the metal flash.

There was the sound of metal slicing through flesh, the sound of someone rapidly taking in air, and then the sound of B's laughter echoing through the night. A pale body with black hair and big, round eyes hit the ground.

"Beyond!" yelled L, horrified to see a knife sticking from his heart. Beyond laughed again, weakly this time. L knelt down and put B's head in his lap. _What were you thinking?_

"B! B, what… why?!" B smiled weakly and gave a slight spasm. His hands clutched the knife that was imbedded into his heart.

"L… I was too weak to come and say this outright… agghh… I tried to avoid this… tried to pretend I still hated you, but… this couldn't be avoided…" L was confused. "What? What do you mean?"

"I always denied that you were better than me… me asserting my superiority… became my life…" he coughed and winced from the pain. "You… you proved me wrong… that day… five years ago… you were always better… because you _could _reject your humanity… because… you were strong enough… to just act… as a letter. Something that I… could never… do… I was… weak… I let my emotions cloud my judgment and… I killed… those three people…" he coughed again, and this time blood came up with it. "I… hated you… enough to kill… but then I realized… I never hated you. It was myself I hated, because I never really was at your level… I… thought that I'd never be good enough… but I put it on my heart that I _would _be better… eventually. After a while, I convinced myself… I _was _better than you… and when I realized then that all I was was B… a backup… I hated you… because I thought you were restraining me… thought you were holding me back…" He let out a shuddering breath, and more blood came from his mouth. His hands were only loosely wrapped around the knife handle now. "You weren't… you just knew… I wasn't ready to be you… and… I… shed blood… of those innocents… it doesn't matter that they were destined to die that day anyway…" B's eyes were almost closed now, and his words were barely whispers now. "I am… more like you than I ever imagined, I suppose. I do have… a sense… of justice… and L… I committed those crimes not only against those people, but against _you. _I can't live knowing that… I… never wanted… to hurt you…" he closed his eyes fully and whispered, "Before I die, please… tell me… that you… forgive…" He gave a small moan and his voice gave out. His chest was barely moving now, but he was still breathing. If slightly.

L, water running down his face, leaned close to B and whispered, "I forgave you a long time ago."

B opened his eyes slightly and smiled, a true, genuine smile. Then his head tilted to the side and his eyes grew glassy and still. Red water pooled around his sides and flowed onto L's shoes. B was dead.

L cradled B's hand and stroked his forehead delicately, and stared at his corpse. There was still a smile on his face. L bowed his head respectfully, and couldn't help but stare at B's open eyes. They were gray and dull… nothing like the lively and sadistic red eyes that L had always associated with B. He closed B's eyes reverently, then whispered almost inaudibly, "You were quite worthy of succeeding me, B…"

L stood and called Watari on his phone, asking for someone to come and pick up the body. His voice was indifferent, but his heart was anguished. He put the cell phone away and turned to Light, who stood there, looking puzzled. "Well… uh…" Light didn't know what to say. What _could _he say?

"Come on Light, we've got other cases to solve." L turned and walked down the path, his shoes making squelching sounds, and he looked back at B's body one more time. He licked his lips.

He was surprised to find that they tasted like salt.


End file.
